The tale of the drunken Nintendo rep

We've fallen on desperate times when fanboys start clinging to a tale about a drunken Nintendo rep spilling the beans on Wii's launch date. "October 30!" He shouts in his sake haze. "Ten days later in the US and Europe," he adds.

Besides telling us absolutely nothing about the actual launch date -- don't worry, just a few more months until Nintendo makes the official announcement -- what more can we take away from this dubious account? Well, for one thing, it's a reflection of our nervous excitement. Nintendo is the classic champion-turned-underdog in this match, and we can't wait for it to begin -- and to be over already.

The handheld market aside, Nintendo ran out of gas years ago. But, as the new guys flash their speed and muscle, a lot of us our rooting for Nintendo to succeed in switching the game up without resorting to conventional means. There's an odd energy in the air leading up to this fight. I think we can all drink to that.